- ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Clean energy businesses in Missouri added more than 2,800 workers in 2021, now employing 54,397 Missourians across the state. That’s according to a new analysis of employment datareleased today by the national, nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) and nonprofit Evergreen Climate Innovations. The report comes after Congress and the Biden administration passed the largest investment in climate and clean energy in history which is set to boost clean energy jobs and businesses across the state.
After a mild downturn across all energy jobs in 2020, Missouri clean energy jobs grew 6 percent in 2021, almost 2 times faster than the overall economy. According to Clean Jobs Midwest 2022, growth in 2021 was driven by advanced transportation, which added more than 1,470 jobs and now employs 7,430 workers statewide.
Despite the recent growth, clean energy jobs still have significant room to grow in Missouri. With billions in funds from the Inflation Reduction Act preparing to be invested nationwide, the state has an enormous opportunity to create tens of thousands more jobs in the coming years. To see the full potential of job and emission reduction benefits from the Inflation Reduction Act, state and federal coordination is needed. Policies that remove barriers for clean energy development like the development of workforce training programs and expansion of transmission infrastructure will also be critical.
According to the analysis, the energy efficiency sector continued to lead clean energy in total jobs in 2021 with more than 38,680 workers followed by advanced transportation (7,430 jobs) and renewable energy (5,497 jobs). Meanwhile, advanced transportation saw the fastest job growth across clean energy (25 percent), followed by renewable energy (7 percent).
Clean energy employment grew 5 percent nationwide to reach 3.2 million jobs. The Midwest also saw clean energy jobs increase 5 percent, a rate faster than overall employment growth in the region. The 12 state Midwest region is now home to over 714,000 clean energy jobs.
Micaela Preskill, Midwest Advocate for E2 said:
“With the IRA investing billions into the clean energy sector in the coming years, these jobs are set to grow at an unprecedented rate. Missouri stands to benefit as the industry builds off its strong foundation with clean energy workers calling home in every corner of the Midwest. With policies that support strong wages, equity, and workforce training, a transformation to a cleaner economy that boosts the state’s entire economy is within reach.”
Ian Adams, Managing Director at Evergreen Climate Innovations said:
“The clean energy workforce is a large and growing part of the Midwest region’s economy. This seventh edition of the Clean Jobs Midwest report demonstrates how innovative businesses across renewable energy, electric vehicles, and beyond are continuing to deploy new technologies and create new jobs in the process. Looking forward, we are excited for the potential for this industry to grow even more robustly following the passage of impactful federal legislation including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.”
Mick Baird, Executive Vice President, North American Development at Invenergy said:
“For more than twenty years Invenergy has been leading the clean energy revolution, capitalizing on this emerging market and increasing American competitiveness. With historic federal support for renewable energy with the Inflation Reduction Act, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, and the CHIPs and Science Act, growth and quality jobs in this sector are primed to rocket. The symbiosis between helping the planet and invigorating the economy has never been stronger, and we’re proud to be at the center of it.”
Other Findings:
- Clean energy occupations accounted for 22 percent of all construction jobs and 4 percent of all manufacturing jobs in Missouri.
- Small businesses drive Missouri’s clean energy sector – in 2021, 68 percent of Missouri’s clean energy businesses employed fewer than 20 people.
- 10 percent of Missourians employed in clean energy are veterans.
For a full breakdown of clean energy jobs for every state in the Midwest, see www.cleanjobsmidwest.com – including profiles of workers in each sector.
Methodology:
This is the seventh annual Clean Jobs Midwest report produced by E2 and Evergreen Climate Innovations (formerly Clean Energy Trust) based on analysis of the U.S. Department of Energy’s annual US Energy Employment & Jobs Report (USEER) by the BW Research Partnership. The USEER analyzes data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) to track employment across many energy production, transmission and distribution subsectors. In addition, the 2022 USEER relies on a unique supplemental survey of 33,000 business representatives across the United States.
For more details on methodology see https://www.cleanjobsmidwest.com/survey-methodology.